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Self-acceptance: a key to a happy life, but difficult for most, survey finds

(Relaxnews) – A new survey has found that self-acceptance is the “healthy habit” people struggle with most.

The UK charity Action for Happiness in conjunction with online behavioral change program Do Something Different asked 5,000 participants to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 10 on ten “happy” habits. These habits, identified as “keys to happiness” via scientific research, plus the questions used to identify them, were as follows:

Giving: How often do you make an effort to help or be kind to others?Relating: How often do you put effort into the relationships that matter most to you?Exercising: How often do you spend at least half an hour a day being active?Appreciating: How often do you take time to notice the good things in your life?Trying out: How often do you learn or try new things?Direction: How often do you do things that contribute to your most important life goals?Resilience: How often do you find ways to bounce back quickly from problems?Emotion: How often do you do things that make you feel good?Acceptance: How often are you kind to yourself and think you’re fine as you are?Meaning: How often do you do things that give you a sense of meaning or purpose?

While questions about Giving and Relating each scored an average of more than 7/10, the Acceptance question scored the lowest of the bunch: an average of 5.56 out of 10, just below Exercising (5.88/10).

“This survey shows that practising self-acceptance is one thing that could make the biggest difference to many people’s happiness,” says Professor Karen Pine, a psychologist from the University of Hertfordshire and co-founder of Do Something Different. “Exercise is also known to lift mood so if people want a simple, daily way to feel happier they should get into the habit of being more physically active too.”

Do Something Different and Action for Happiness have created a Do Happiness program, which sends people messages to help them practice scientifically backed healthy habits. Some of the recommended actions include being as kind to yourself as you are to other people, spending quality quiet time by yourself, and asking a trusted friend what he or she thinks your greatest strengths are.